June 7, 2004

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A potential of 15 matches against teams which joined UC Santa Barbara in last year's NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament highlights the 2004 schedule for the two-time defending Big West Conference champion Gauchos.

UCSB begins its season at the SDSU Invitational with its first-ever match against Wichita State on Friday, Sept. 3. Later that day the Gauchos face host school San Diego State before wrapping up tournament play vs. perennial Big 12 power Texas Tech on Sept. 4.

Santa Barbara faces arguably its toughest two-day stretch the following week at the Golden Bear Invitational in Berkeley, Calif. After squaring off with 2003 NCAA Regional Semifinalist Texas A&M on Thursday, Sept. 9, the Gauchos play another Sweet 16 team - host California - the following night.

UCSB begins defense of its back-to-back Big West titles by hosting Central Coast rival Cal Poly in the Thunderdome on Tuesday, Sept. 14, its earliest home opener since 1998.

However it's quickly back on the road four a three-match tour of the Sunshine State, the Gauchos' longest trip of the season. On Sept. 17 Santa Barbara faces Connecticut in the 2004 Florida Classic, with the host Gators - last year's NCAA runner-ups - meeting Clemson in the other first-round match-up. The winners and losers of each match will then square off the following day. From Gainesville the Gauchos will travel to Tallahassee for a Sept. 19 showdown with Florida State.

Big West action kicks into high gear the following weekend with UCSB playing at UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton. The road to a third straight league crown will not be easy as the Gauchos face each of their nine conference foes twice, including five schools - Cal State Northridge, Idaho, Long Beach State, Pacific and UC Irvine - which also qualified for the Big Dance in 2003.

Santa Barbara will take two breaks from Big West play to host a pair of regional rivals, both of which were NCAA tourney teams a year ago. On Oct. 5 Loyola Marymount invades the Thunderdome, followed by Pepperdine - ranked No. 6 nationally at the end of last season - on Nov. 2. In a final non-conference tune-up before the 64-team NCAA Tournament field is unveiled, the Gauchos travel to UC Davis for an afternoon clash on Sunday, Nov. 21. UCD will officially join the Big West beginning in 2007-08.

"We have a battle-tested group of returnees who I think are eager and ready to take on this challenging schedule," said Kathy Gregory, entering her 30th season as UCSB's head coach. "With the parity that has developed in the Big West, we need to prepare for a battle every night, and our non-conference schedule will help us do that."

Santa Barbara finished last season with a 19-9 overall record (14-4 in conference) and No. 22 national ranking from the American Volleyball Coaches' Association. In addition, UCSB remained one of only four programs in the country to qualify for all 23 NCAA Championships dating back to the tournament's inception in 1981. The Gauchos will return 11 letterwinners - five of them starters - including junior middle blocker Megan Blackshire who was an honorable mention AVCA All-West Region recipient in 2003. She was joined on the All-Big West First Team last season by senior libero Kristin Nelson, the conference leader in digs per game. A pair of talented sophomores - 2003 Big West Freshman of the Year Olivia Waldowski and outside hitter Janine Sandell - also figure to play prominent roles for UCSB. Six freshmen round out the Gaucho roster, three of whom ranked among PrepVolleyball.com's top-100 "Senior Aces" last year.

The complete 2004 UCSB women's volleyball schedule can be viewed by clicking here.